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NCAAF Picks

The Southern University & Georgia live in two completely different football universes, even though they share the same region. Lets review the odds for this matchup as we offer a free NCAAF pick.

Momentum
The Jaguars are coming off wins in the lower-division FCS against Mississippi State and Jackson State. Southern scored 50 points in each of those games, so it’s clear that this offense has some talent and an ability to perform very consistently against similar competition. Southern was routed by Louisiana Tech in the season opener, but the Jaguars are hopeful that after playing a few games, studying film, and learning not just about Georgia, but who they themselves are as a football team (and as an offense), they can do better in this game on Saturday.

Georgia played an excellent game, drubbing South Carolina and scoring over 50 points against Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks, a result which had to make all Bulldog fans feel really good about their team and where it is. The Bulldogs did everything right, and the most encouraging thing for them is that their quarterback was exceptionally sharp, more than any other quarterback probably will be throughout the rest of the season. Think that’s an exaggeration? It’s actually very likely to be true. Greyson Lambert, a transfer from the University of Virginia, completed 24 of 25 passes. He was simply sensational. Given that Georgia has a knockout running game led by Nick Chubb and helped by Sony Michel, the ability to pass the ball makes the Bulldogs devastatingly effective and balanced. Their offense will become unpredictable with Lambert playing this well – if he can keep it up, Georgia might be the favorite to win the entire SEC, not just the East Division.

Line Moves
The College Football Odds at 5Dimes show a ridiculous line here as Georgia opened as a 60-point favorite. That’s a lot of points to cover in any scenario given any matchup, so it’s not surprising that the line has come down to Georgia -55 here.

Notable Injuries
Southern has no injuries listed. Georgia fullback Christian Payne is out indefinitely with an injured fibula, but that’s it for the Bulldogs, which are in very good injury shape heading into this one.

Handicapping The Game
The fact that Southern has scored 50 points in each of its last two games adds at least some curiosity to this game. The Jaguars shrugged off their blowout loss in the season opener and clearly made adjustments. They got a lot better in their next two games, even if the level of competition clearly and precipitously dropped. Southern will take the field thinking that it can execute its offense a lot better than it did against Louisiana Tech a few weeks ago. The Jaguars won’t be as nervous before their fourth game of the season as they so clearly were before their first game of the season.

However, Georgia is playing really well in all phases of the game. The Bulldogs’ defense struggled a little bit in the opening stages of the South Carolina game, but settled down in the second half and barely gave the Gamecocks anything until the outcome had already been decided. Georgia should cruise in this game but take Southern with your College Football Picks on the spread here.